What we create, when we let ourselves get lost in the process, is often simply evidence.
I stitched for a while as the sun rose.
I look now and see evidence of the struggle toward a perfect circle. Evidence of my misguided obsession with self perfection. And now I feel more relaxed noting that it's fine even if it isn't even close.
The moon was created by indigo dyeing over Deb's hand dyed cloth. The magic feather shows up a lot lately. Hope is a shapeshifter anyway...
I’ve only been following you for about 6 months. Though I was very much aware of your work once I entered the slow stitching world. It feels really good to settle into a place that truly values the process and the journey rather than the destination. As I get older I have a lot less tolerance for people who want to rush to the end and don’t spend time with process. I’m going to work on that. I love your magic feathers, they enchant me! And they are so distinctly you. Thanks for all you share it’s such a lovely gentle inspiration.
Thanks for the kind words and enjoy the journey!
Ahhhhh. Sublime. Love: looking may lead to seeing. Profound.
Love it <3
As it is, it’s much more real. oxo
Ouch! “Misguided obsession with perfection” bit me…old script oozing its way back
Yeah, I know what you mean…
The feathery edges echo the feather so well. Perfection is an illusion; something we strive for but never reach. Realizing that lets us relax and be happily imperfect. It might be one of those things that comes with age.
It is, but it’s pursuit seems almost built in sometimes
Perfection is a mirage.
This is a gentle one, I like it.
Seems realer
As Ann Lamott noted in Bird by Bird, “perfectionism is the oppressor.”
Yes!
It’s very much an eclipse, to my way of thinking. Shadows and rings around the moon. It also reminds me of a ceremonial drum
Oh I like the drum image.
Perfectly imperfect.🌀
🙃
This is sort of zinging with energy… I think it’s a slight blur on the edges because of low light, maybe? Anyway, cool. “Hope is a shapeshifter…” – musing on that.
Me too and shapes are shifting…
This morning, at first light, I opened the curtain and looked at one of my naturally dyed wall hangings, made about 5 years ago. Some cloth pieces were faded but I do like that yet there was a longing to add more markings over those faded bits. I’m one who is not all that gifted with needle and thread and in the beginning of my journey with cloth, it bothered me, that need to stitch beautifully. Now I laugh because my stitching is of necessity, of putting my dyed bits of cloth together to tell the story it wants to tell of the land I live in. (New Mexico). This morning, sitting out at daybreak, with needled and thread and bits of my dyed scraps, I patched a world and it felt right and it felt comforting. And I ask myself, why today, to do this, no answer came save that when story needs a new chapter or perhaps a refresh, it lets this be known if you can be open to listen…
I love the moon, in its luminance, striving for the perfection of roundness, seeing the efforts of balancing. Strange to feel so much for a little scrap of cloth – its small self so precious.
I got so caught up in it.
There are no words for me. But the response, the feeling… Perfect beginning for this new day. Thank you Jude!
Thank you for stopping by.
It’s just in the doing for me now, and besides nothing is perfect.
💙🪶
Just going is a gift.
I just reread the introductory sentence and felt it deeply. “Evidence”….. How the things we make/say/do are evidence, tracks that show we have been walking our path of life.
👋Yes, it’s a better perspective, softer than the “thing”.
I feel the peace so thoughtfully reflected in this post.
I felt peace suddenly with the saying.
Edges, liminal spaces…where the magic happens. 🙂 I too really love this one.
It’s freeing, in its unexpected form.
Yes to the magic and generativity of”edges and liminal spaces”!!! and I love the “imperfection” of the circle — just perfect 🙂
Perhaps perfect is a feeling.
Love the softness of the edges. Floating, flying before kind of landing.
Beautiful little piece of evidence! 😁 Truly exquisite in all it has to say. When you ply your needle and thread, Jude, magic ensues…
That’s nice to imagine 💚
I thought it might be a Waning Gibbous 🌖 Moon! Nature is perfect in Her imperfections. It’s beautiful, Jude.
It was many things along the way .
This one is Magic! Love it!
Thank you Jude.
I feel lighter
I’ve learned so much about “never mind perfection” from you, and yet, here we still struggle…and again it’s ok! Just going and how beautiful that is
The journey💙
Sometimes I forget …
Me too😅
I agree Jen…I think the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from Jude is letting go of perfection. Early on I read on another stitcher”s blog about how they uniformly had X amount of stitches per inch and I looked at my wonky stitching and got kind of depressed. But then I found Jude and fell in love with her work. And upon enlarging a photo of one her pieces to try and figure out how she did a stitch, I saw that her stitches weren’t precisely perfect…and yet the finished piece was utterly beautiful. It allowed me to let go of perfection and just enjoy stitching.
❤️
I really like this one
I do too.